Cousins can be a help after all
by TigeronFire1986
Summary: Artie is hurt by Tina, but his cousin has a few things to say. First fanfic, please be gentle.


This is the first ever fanfiction story I've written. I welcome criticism, but please don't be rude. For the last couple of days I've had a story floating around my head about someone explaining to Artie about people being shy, so I decided to get that out.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'd like Artie, but I don't think Tina would be too happy about that...

He had never felt so betrayed. How could Tina have lied to him? it wasn't fair, she had lied, but he felt bad for leaving her. Artie knew he would need a few days to cool off. After school, his mom picked him up and dropped him off at home, saying that she had to run a few errands. When Artie went inside, he wheeled himself into the kitchen, to find his cousin, Amelia, sitting at the table reading a magazine. "What are you doing here, Lea?" he asked. Lea glanced at him. "Laundry day. I'm down to my last bra, and there's no point in buying a new one. What's wrong? Didn't your date go well?" Artie looked up, but Lea was already moving around the kitchen getting the milk out and two glasses. "Where did your mom hide the Oreos?" Lea called out over her shoulder, standing on her toes looking on the top shelf in the pantry. Artie pointed to the bottom shelf "behind the cereal. How'd you know about the date?"

"Your mom told me. So tell me everything. I thought you really liked Tina." Lea poured the milk and brought the glasses to the table. She then went and got the Oreos. Artie didn't say anything, but felt Lea's stare. "You know I'm not leaving until you talk", Artie sighed and nodded. "She told me that her stutter is fake. She just did it because she had to give a speech and she was shy. I thought we had something, but apparently not." He took a cookie and dunked it in milk before taking a bite. "I left her at school. I couldn't be around her".

"That's it?" Lea asked; Artie looked baffled. "What do you mean "That's it?" she lied to me, to everyone". Lea smiled "dear, sweet Artie, she may have faked the stutter, but she never faked her feelings towards you. When I was six, I was shy and hid behind my parents" She giggled, "I did that until like fifth grade." Artie laughed with her "yeah, I remember".

Lea turned serious, "think of it like this, being shy all the time is sort of like having a disability. Tina probably didn't mean anything by faking a stutter; she just didn't want to draw attention to herself. She told you? That takes balls, or in her case, ovaries, you mean that much to her. Think how she feels now after you just left her alone?" Lea picked up his hand and sighed; "I know you feel like being in wheelchair pushes people away" Artie looked away from her face, "if you really believe that, then Tina is something special because she doesn't want to be pushed away. And if you ask me, you need to hold on to her, because she might be the person you end up spending the rest of your life with."

Artie looked into Lea's green eyes and gave a small smile, "Since when did you get all sentimental and mushy…and make sense?" he asked her. She grinned, "since I started going out with this guy from my Anatomy and Physiology lab class. He's taking me out tonight, so I need my best bra. Time to check the laundry." She jumped up and skipped down to the basement calling out, "think about what I said!"

Artie finished his glass of milk and rolled himself to his room where he called Tina's cell phone, but only got her voicemail. "Hi Tina, I'm sorry about the way I acted and I was hoping we could talk about it…call me"

He didn't hear from her at all that night. When his mom asked him what was wrong he didn't respond. He called again around eight that night, but again no answer. He tried Mercedes, Kurt and even Rachel, but none of them had heard from Tina.

He didn't sleep well that night, and woke up grumpy.

Tina wasn't at school that day, or the next. Lea was over helping his mom with dinner when he got home from Glee, but he only mumbled a hello and wheeled himself into his room. Two minutes later, he heard a knocking at the door, "I'm doing homework," he yelled. Lea opened the door "that's not going to get me anywhere, now if you say your jerking off, then I might leave." Artie didn't smile. Lea came in and closed the door. She was wearing purple sweat pants, so she sat down on the floor and started doing leg stretches. "Talk to me" she said.

Lea was the only cousin he could really talk to about girls, and the accident. A drunk driver had hit her when she was fifteen and still had nightmares about it. She'd broken her right arm in three places, her right leg in two places, and her left leg in three places. She'd been in a chair for a while, but the difference was the kids at her school thought that it was cool. Artie wheeled himself to his bed and pulled himself out of it so that he was lying among the pillows.

"Tina hasn't been in school and she doesn't answer her phone. No one has heard from her. I'm really worried." Lea studied him for a minute before she got up left his room, he heard her asking his dad for a phone book, thirty seconds later, she came back in and plopped down, "last name?" she asked,

Artie told her and sat up to watch her curiously, she found the address and number and brought the book over to him. "Now you can call her house or go over there" She looked at him expectantly and blew at the strand of brown hair that had fallen into her eyes while she was looking up the name. Artie took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the number Lea pointed to. After the third ring, a tired sounding woman answered. "Cohen-Chang residence" Artie swallowed. "Hi, my name is Artie, I go to school with Tina and I haven't seen her in a couple of days, I was wondering if she is alright." There was a long silence on the other end of the line. " Tina was hit by a bus on her way home from school the other day. She's in the hospital." Artie's face went white, "can I see her?" "Artie did you say? I think she would like that, the only time she speaks is in her sleep and she says your name. I'll call the hospital and tell them your coming to see her." When Artie hung up he turned to his cousin's concerned face, "can you take me to the hospital please?"

The ride was quiet, after a few minutes Lea pulled into a florist shop turned to Artie "The other day, I cut my finger while making dinner, my roommate told my guy who went out and got a bouquet of half a dozen pink roses and a get well card, now I'm not into all that cheesy, lovey, dovey, crap, but he got some of the best sex of his life that night." Artie looked thoughtful, "Ok, let's go in" he came out with a dozen carnations and babies breath and a get well soon card held by a white bear. Lea smiled at Artie, but when they drove into the hospital parking lot, Artie could feel Lea tense up.

Once they were inside they asked for directions and found the nurses desk. Artie had met Tina's dad once, but he recognized him immediately. He nodded to Artie and told him he could go in, before introducing himself to Lea and starting a discussion with her about Tina's injuries.

Artie wheeled himself over to Tina's bed. Her eyes were closed, but opened when he was next to her. "Artie" she whispered, and his heart broke. She sounded so weak and vulnerable. "Hey" he said. He then looked at her, taking in her injuries. Her left leg was in a cast that started from mid thigh to the bottom of her foot. Both her arms had thin bandages wrapped around them and she was covered in scrapes and bruises. "Sorry I didn't tell you. My phone was broken." She could barely talk and looked at a cup of water with a straw that was next to her bed. "Here," Artie picked it up and brought it to her mouth, so she could drink, "I missed you".

She stopped drinking and he put the cup down. "Me too. I'm sorry I lied, I didn't realize how much it would hurt you." Tina looked down at her leg. Artie took her hand "I'm sorry I left. My cousin explained it to me. I understand how hard it is to be shy now." Tina smiled sadly, "I kept dreaming about you. I was running after you, but you kept moving. I was calling your name, but you wouldn't turn to me." Tina's eyes started to fill with up with water.

Artie picked up the flowers in his lap, "I got these for you" Tina smiled through her tears, as he handed her the bear. She picked up the card and read the back

"_Tina, I'm so sorry that I left you. You're my best friend, and I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you. I love you, more than you know. _

_ Artie" _

Tina smiled, and Artie had never seen anything so beautiful. "I love you too, always have", she brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed it "always will". Artie moved his chair closer to the bed and leant forward so that he was near her face. She moved her face so that their lips were almost touching. Artie kissed her lips softly, savoring the softness of them. When he pulled back, she was smiling.

A nurse came into the room, followed by Lea and Tina's dad. Lea had a vase in her hands and put it by Tina's bed. The nurse put the flowers in the vase and said that visiting hours were over. "Will you come by tomorrow?" Tina asked Artie hopefully, who looked up at Lea. She smiled and nodded "of course"

That night, Artie slept better than he had in months, and the next day he and the rest of the Glee kids went to the hospital to visit her, but Artie stayed for most of the night by her side.


End file.
